CN115997451A

CN115997451A - User equipment and method for sharing periodic channel occupancy

Info

Publication number: CN115997451A
Application number: CN202080104098.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林浩
Original assignee: Orope France SARL
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2020-08-07
Filing date: 2020-08-07
Publication date: 2023-04-21
Also published as: WO2022029462A1; US20230125590A1; EP4190104A1

Abstract

A user equipment and a communication method thereof are provided. The method comprises the following steps: starting periodic channel occupation with a first period; and indicating an initiated channel occupation to be shared by the base station or the second UE using the first information. This may allow the UE to initiate channel occupancy and the UE may be able to share the initiated channel occupancy with the base station in a semi-static channel access mode, solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission delay, provide good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

Description

User equipment and method for sharing periodic channel occupancy

Background

1. Technical field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more particularly, to a user equipment capable of providing good communication performance and/or providing high reliability and a communication method thereof.

2. Background art

In the unlicensed band, the unlicensed spectrum is a shared spectrum. Communication devices in different communication systems may use the unlicensed spectrum as long as the regulatory requirements of the country or region on the spectrum setting are met by the unlicensed spectrum. There is no need to apply for proprietary spectrum grants to the government.

In order to allow various communication systems that use unlicensed spectrum for wireless communications to coexist in the spectrum with ease, some countries or regions prescribe regulatory requirements that must be met using unlicensed spectrum. For example, the communication device follows a listen before talk (listen before talk, LBT) procedure, i.e. the communication device needs to perform channel sensing before transmitting a signal on the channel. When the LBT result shows that the channel is idle, the communication equipment can perform signal transmission; otherwise, the communication device is not capable of signal transmission. To ensure fairness, once a communication device successfully occupies a channel, the transmission duration cannot exceed the maximum channel occupation time (maximum channel occupancy time, MCOT).

On the unlicensed carrier, for the channel occupancy time obtained by the base station, the base station may share the channel occupancy time to a User Equipment (UE) transmitting an uplink signal or an uplink channel. In other words, when the base station shares the channel occupation time of the base station with the UE, the UE can use the LBT mode having a higher priority than the UE itself for obtaining the channel, thereby obtaining the channel with a greater probability.

In the latest new wireless unlicensed (new radio unlicensed, NRU) systems, if the NRU system is configured in semi-static channel access mode, the UE cannot start channel occupation time (channel occupancy time, MCOT) and the UE must detect downlink signals before being allowed to send any uplink transmissions. This will greatly limit UE performance and significantly increase transmission delay. In order to meet high service requirements for delay, such as factory machine type communication or high quality monitoring, it is necessary to reduce delay.

Accordingly, there is a need for a user equipment and a communication method thereof that can allow a UE to initiate channel occupancy and the UE can share the initiated channel occupancy with a base station in a semi-static channel access mode to solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission delay, provide good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present disclosure to propose a user equipment and a communication method thereof, which can allow a UE to initiate channel occupation, and the UE can share the initiated channel occupation with a base station in a semi-static channel access mode, solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission delay, provide good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a communication method of a user equipment includes: a periodic channel occupancy with a first period is initiated and the first information is used to indicate the initiated channel occupancy to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

In a second aspect of the disclosure, a user device includes a memory, a transceiver, and a processor coupled to the memory and the transceiver; wherein the processor is configured to initiate periodic channel occupancy having a first period; and indicating an initiated channel occupation to be shared by the base station or the second UE using the first information.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above-described method.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, a chip includes: and a processor configured to call and run a computer program stored in the memory to cause the device on which the chip is mounted to perform the above method.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium has stored thereon a computer program that causes a computer to execute the above-described method.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program product comprising a computer program, the computer program causing a computer to perform the above method.

In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer program causes a computer to execute the above method.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related art, the following drawings will be briefly described in the embodiments. It is apparent that the drawings are only some of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and that other drawings may be obtained from these drawings by those of ordinary skill in the art without undue effort.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a user equipment and a base station communicating in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a transmission method of a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a fixed frame period (fixed frame period, FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a Fixed Frame Period (FFP) configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a UE FFP configuration and a gNB FFP configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a UE FFP configuration and a gNB FFP configuration according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Technical matters, structural features, achieved objects and effects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In particular, the terminology in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 illustrates that in some embodiments, a User Equipment (UE) 10 and a base station 20 are provided for communication in a communication network system 30 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication network system 30 includes the UE 10 and the base station 20. The UE 10 may include a memory 12, a transceiver 13, and a processor 11 coupled to the memory 12 and the transceiver 13. BS 20 may include a memory 22, a transceiver 23, and a processor 21 coupled to memory 22 and transceiver 23. The

processor

11 or 21 is configured to implement the proposed functions, processes and/or methods described in the present specification. The layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the

processor

11 or 21. The

memory

12 or 22 is operatively coupled to the

processor

11 or 22 and stores various first information to operate the

processor

11 or 21. The

transceiver

13 or 23 is operatively coupled to the

processor

11 or 21, and the

transceiver

13 or 23 transmits and/or receives radio signals.

The

processor

11 or 21 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit, and/or data processing device.

Memory

12 or 22 may include Read Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and/or other storage devices. The

transceiver

13 or 23 may include baseband circuitry to process radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. These modules may be stored in the

memory

12 or 22 and executed by the

processor

11 or 21. The

memory

12 or 21 may be implemented within the

processor

11 or 22 or external to the

processor

12 or 21, in which case the modules can be communicatively coupled to the

processor

11 or 21 via various means as is known in the art.

According to the third generation partnership project (3rd generation partnership project,3GPP) long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE) and New Radio (NR) Release 16 and beyond, communication between UEs involves vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) communication, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) and vehicle-to-infrastructure/network (V2I/N). The UEs communicate directly with each other via a side-link interface (e.g., a PC5 interface). Some embodiments of the present disclosure relate to side-uplink communication techniques in 3GPP NR Release 16 and higher versions.

The present disclosure provides some embodiments to allow a UE to initiate channel occupancy and the UE 10 can share channel occupancy with a base station 20 (e.g., a gNB) or a second UE in a semi-static channel access mode. In the present disclosure, some embodiments provide a method for a UE 10 to initiate channel occupancy and share UE channel occupancy with a gNB in a semi-static channel access mode.

In some embodiments, the processor 11 is configured to initiate a periodic channel occupancy having a first period and to use the first information to indicate the initiated channel occupancy to be shared by the base station 20 or the second UE. This may allow the UE to initiate channel occupancy and the UE may be able to share the initiated channel occupancy with the base station in a semi-static channel access mode, solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission delay, provide good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

In some embodiments, the first period of periodic channel occupancy is configured by the base station 20. In some embodiments, the periodic channel occupancy includes one or more Fixed Frame Periods (FFPs). In some embodiments, initiating periodic channel occupancy by processor 11 includes performing a channel access procedure in a first period; or perform a channel access procedure at the beginning of each FFP. In some embodiments, the base station 20 configures one or more periodic Configured Grant (CG) resources for the UE 10 in a second period. In some embodiments, the second period is related to the first period. In some embodiments, a first CG resource of the one or more periodic CG resources is located at a beginning of periodic channel occupancy, or at a beginning of an FFP. In some embodiments, the processor 11 performs the channel access procedure before transmitting the CG-physical uplink shared channel (physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH) in the first CG resource. In some embodiments, the UE 10 transmits CG-PUSCH after the channel access procedure and when the channel is sensed to be idle. In some embodiments, for each FFP, the FFP period starts from CG-PUSCH resources. In some embodiments, CG-PUSCH resources are in each FFP. In some embodiments, when the UE 10 successfully accesses the channel at the beginning of the FFP, the transceiver 13 continues to transmit CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCH resources in the FFP. It should be noted that in some embodiments of the present disclosure, one periodic channel occupancy and one FFP may change from one another.

In some embodiments, when transceiver 13 transmits CG-PUSCH, transceiver 13 also transmits CG-uplink control information (uplink control information, UCI), where the CG-UCI includes first indication information indicating channel occupancy time (channel occupancy time, COT) shared information to base station 20 or a second UE. In some embodiments, the indication information comprises 1 bit, wherein a dedicated value of the bit indicates that UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station 20 or the second UE. In some embodiments, the UE10 is configured with COT shared information by the base station 20. In some embodiments, the COT sharing information includes a COT sharing energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, processor 11 is configured to perform the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, when processor 11 performs the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold, the processor may indicate in the CG-UCI that channel occupancy is to be shared by base station 20 or the second UE. In some embodiments, processor 11 selects whether the COT shared energy detection threshold is used to perform a channel access procedure.

In some embodiments, when the processor 11 chooses to use the COT shared energy detection threshold, the processor may choose whether to share UE channel occupancy with the base station 20. In some embodiments, the processor 11 is unable to share UE channel occupancy with the base station 20 when the processor performs the channel access procedure without using the COT shared energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE, a first duration for which the UE channel occupancy is shared is determined.

In some embodiments, the FFP or periodic channel occupancy includes a maximum channel occupancy and an idle period. In some embodiments, the first duration is determined by a maximum channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the UE periodic channel occupancy is semi-statically configured by the base station by signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling includes radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) signaling. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy is proportional to the first period. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy comprises X% of the first period, where X is predefined or preconfigured, and the remainder of the FFP period comprises an idle period. In some embodiments, transceiver 13 is not allowed to transmit during idle periods. In some embodiments, when UE channel occupancy is to be shared by base station 20, base station 20 should not perform transmissions in idle periods. In some embodiments, the first duration is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the first duration ends at an earliest among the duration of the UE maximum channel occupancy end and CG-UCI indication.

In some embodiments, the first duration ends at the end of the UE maximum channel occupancy if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends earlier than the duration indicated by the CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the first duration ends at the duration of the CG-UCI indication if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends later than the duration of the CG-UCI indication. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first duration is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration is related to the last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first duration starts from an earliest slot boundary after a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the first duration is equal to a starting position of the COT shared duration plus a predefined or preconfigured length. The starting position is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, CG-UCI does not include information about channel access priority class (channel access priority class, cap).

In some embodiments, the cap value is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the base station 20 specifies (assume) a predefined or preconfigured cap value. In some embodiments, processor 11 is configured to perform a channel access procedure using a pre-defined or pre-configured CAPA value. In some embodiments, the predefined or preconfigured cap value corresponds to the lowest priority value. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration comprises a periodic channel occupancy of the base station 20 or a starting location of an FFP of the base station.

Fig. 2 illustrates a communication method 300 of a user device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the method 300 includes: block 302, a periodic channel occupancy having a first period is initiated, and block 304, the initiated channel occupancy to be shared by the base station or the second UE is indicated using the first information. This may allow the UE to initiate channel occupancy and the UE may be able to share the initiated channel occupancy with the base station in a semi-static channel access mode, solve the problems in the prior art, improve transmission delay, provide good communication performance, and/or provide high reliability.

In some embodiments, the first period of periodic channel occupancy is configured by the base station. In some embodiments, the periodic channel occupancy includes one or more Fixed Frame Periods (FFPs). In some embodiments, initiating periodic channel occupancy by the UE includes performing a channel access procedure in a first period; or perform a channel access procedure at the beginning of each FFP. In some embodiments, the method further comprises: the UE configures one or more periodic Configuration Grant (CG) resources with a second period by the base station. In some embodiments, the second period is related to the first period. In some embodiments, a first CG resource of the one or more periodic CG resources is located at a beginning of periodic channel occupancy, or at a beginning of an FFP. In some embodiments, the UE performs a channel access procedure before transmitting a CG-Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) in the first CG resource. In some embodiments, the UE transmits CG-PUSCH after the channel access procedure and when the channel is sensed to be idle. In some embodiments, for each FFP, the FFP period starts from CG-PUSCH resources. In some embodiments, CG-PUSCH resources are in each FFP.

In some embodiments, when the UE successfully accesses the channel at the beginning of the FFP, the UE continues to transmit CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCH resources in the FFP. In some embodiments, if the CG-PUSCH resources are contiguous, the UE continues to transmit CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCH resources in the FFP. In some embodiments, when the UE transmits CG-PUSCH, the UE also transmits CG-Uplink Control Information (UCI), where the CG-UCI includes first indication information indicating Channel Occupation Time (COT) sharing information to the base station or the second UE. In some embodiments, the indication information comprises 1 bit, wherein a dedicated value of the bit indicates that UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE. In some embodiments, the method further comprises configuring, by the base station, the COT shared information. In some embodiments, the COT sharing information includes a COT sharing energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing a channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, when the UE performs a channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold, the UE may indicate in the CG-UCI that channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or a second UE. In some embodiments, the method further comprises selecting whether a COT shared energy detection threshold is used to perform the channel access procedure. In some embodiments, when the UE chooses to use the COT shared energy detection threshold, the UE may choose whether to share UE channel occupancy with the base station. In some embodiments, the UE cannot share UE channel occupancy with the base station when the UE does not perform the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold. In some embodiments, when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE, a first duration for which the UE channel occupancy is shared is determined.

In some embodiments, the FFP or periodic channel occupancy includes a maximum channel occupancy and an idle period. In some embodiments, the first duration is determined by a maximum channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the UE periodic channel occupancy is semi-statically configured by the base station by signaling. In some embodiments, the signaling includes radio resource control (radio resource control, RRC) signaling. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy is proportional to the first period. In some embodiments, the UE maximum channel occupancy comprises X% of the first period, where X is predefined or preconfigured, and the remainder of the FFP period comprises an idle period. In some embodiments, the UE is not allowed to transmit in idle periods. In some embodiments, when UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station, the base station should not perform transmissions in idle periods. In some embodiments, the first duration is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the first duration ends at an earliest among the duration of the UE maximum channel occupancy end and CG-UCI indication. In some embodiments, the first duration ends at the end of the UE maximum channel occupancy if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends earlier than the duration indicated by the CG-UCI.

In some embodiments, the first duration ends at the duration of the CG-UCI indication if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends later than the duration of the CG-UCI indication. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first duration is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration is related to the last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the starting position of the first duration starts from an earliest slot boundary after a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the first duration is equal to a starting position of the COT shared duration plus a predefined or preconfigured length. The starting position is indicated by CG-UCI. In some embodiments, the CG-UCI does not include information about a channel access priority level (CAPC). In some embodiments, the cap value is predefined or preconfigured. In some embodiments, the base station specifies a predefined or preconfigured cap value. In some embodiments, the method further comprises performing a channel access procedure using a predefined or preconfigured cap value. In some embodiments, the predefined or preconfigured cap value corresponds to the lowest priority value. In some embodiments, the starting location of the first duration comprises a periodic channel occupancy of the base station or a starting location of an FFP of the base station.

Fig. 3 illustrates that in some embodiments, a UE may be configured by a gNB with one or more Fixed Frame Periods (FFPs). Each FFP has a period P. As shown in fig. 3, at the beginning of each FFP, the UE may perform a channel access procedure to access a channel.

Fig. 4 illustrates that in some embodiments, the UE is further configured with Configuration Grant (CG) resources, where the UE may transmit CG-PUSCH on the CG resources. Alternatively, CG-PUSCH resources are associated with FFPs, e.g., CG-PUSCH periods are associated with FFP periods. Alternatively, as shown in fig. 4, for each FFP, CG-PUSCH resources are started.

Fig. 5 shows that in some embodiments, there is more than one CG-PUSCH resource in the FFP as shown in fig. 5, and when the UE successfully accesses the channel at the start of the FFP, the UE may continue to transmit CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCHs in the FFP.

In some examples, when the UE transmits CG-PUSCH, CG-UCI is also transmitted, where the CG-UCI includes first indication information indicating COT sharing information to the gNB. Optionally, the indication information includes 1 bit to indicate whether the COT of the UE can be shared, e.g., if the bit is "0", it indicates that the COT can be shared, otherwise the COT will not be shared.

In some examples, where the UE is configured with a COT shared energy detection threshold by the gNB, the UE should perform a channel access procedure using the configured COT shared energy detection threshold. In this case, the UE COT may always be shared by the gNB. The CG-UCI bit can be saved, and the transmission efficiency is higher.

Alternatively, the UE may select whether the configured COT shared energy detection threshold is used to perform the channel access procedure. In this case, the CG-UCI should contain first indication information to indicate whether UE COT can be shared by the gNB. Optionally, when the UE chooses to use the configured COT shared energy detection threshold, the UE may also choose whether to share its COT. However, when the UE does not perform the channel access procedure using the configured COT shared energy detection threshold, the UE cannot share its COT with the gNB.

Fig. 6 and 7 illustrate that in some embodiments, when the gNB shares UE COTs in the FFP, it is desirable to determine the duration of the COTs sharing. One option is that the COT sharing duration is determined by the FFP COT end (as shown in fig. 6 and 7), which is semi-statically configured by the gNB through e.g. RRC signaling. Alternatively, the FFP COT end is predefined, which may be proportional to the FFP period, e.g., X% of the FFP period, where X is predefined or preconfigured (e.g., 95%), the rest is referred to as an idle period, and the UE is not allowed to transmit signals in the idle period. Similarly, when the UE COT is shared by the gnbs, the gnbs should not signal in idle periods.

Fig. 8 and 9 illustrate that in some embodiments, another option is that the COT sharing duration is indicated by CG-UCI. Alternatively, the COT sharing duration ends at the earliest of the FFP COT end and the CG-UCI indicated duration, i.e., if the FFP COT ends earlier than the indicated COT sharing duration ends, the COT sharing duration should end at the FFT COT end (as shown in fig. 8), otherwise, the COT sharing duration ends at the indicated COT sharing duration end (as shown in fig. 9).

In some examples, the starting location of the COT shared duration is preconfigured, e.g., starting from the earliest slot boundary after the last CG resource. Alternatively, the starting position is indicated by CG-UCI. In some examples, the CG-UCI does not include information about the cap and the cap value is predefined or the gNB specifies a predefined cap value. The method has the advantages that the number of CG-UCI bits can be saved, and the transmission efficiency and accuracy can be improved. The UE uses the predefined cap value for channel access. The BS knows that the UE uses a predefined cap value for channel access. The predefined cap value corresponds to the lowest priority value.

Fig. 10 and 11 illustrate that in some embodiments, the UE FFP is configured to have the same period as the gNB FFP and is offset in the time domain. The maximum gNB channel occupancy is different from the maximum UE channel occupancy. However, the starting position of the gNB idle period is aligned with the starting position of the UE idle period. The UE may perform a channel access procedure to initiate channel occupancy at the beginning of the UE FFP. Alternatively, the UE may share the UE channel occupancy with the gNB when the UE initiates the channel occupancy. Then, as shown in fig. 10 and 11, the gNB may perform a channel access procedure in the UE channel occupancy, and when starting near the next gNB FFP, the gNB may re-perform the channel access procedure to initiate the gNB channel occupancy. The advantage is that the gNB can flexibly use the shared channel occupation of the UE or the channel occupation of the gNB. In this way, the gNB may have more opportunities to access the channel. Optionally, the UE is configured to always share UE channel occupancy with the gNB.

The commercial benefits of some embodiments are as follows. 1. The UE is allowed to initiate channel occupancy and may share the initiated channel occupancy with the base station in a semi-static channel access mode. 2. Solves the existing problems. 3. Improving the transmission delay. 4. Providing good communication performance. 5. Providing high reliability. 6. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are used by 5G-NR chipset vendors, V2X communication system development vendors, automotive manufacturers (including cars, trains, trucks, buses, bicycles, motorcycles, helmets, etc.), drones (unmanned aerial vehicles), smart phone manufacturers, public safety use communication devices, AR/VR device manufacturers (e.g., games, conference/seminars, educational objectives). Some embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of "technologies/procedures" that may be employed in the 3GPP specifications to create the end product. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may be employed in 5GNR unlicensed band communications. Some embodiments of the present disclosure propose a technical mechanism.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 12 illustrates a system 700 that includes Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, application circuitry 730, memory/storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input/output (I/O) interface 780 coupled to one another, at least as shown. Application circuitry 730 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors). The processor may be coupled with the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems running on the system.

Baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may comprise a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry may handle various radio control functions that are capable of communicating with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, baseband circuitry may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (evolved universal terrestrial radio access network, EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area network (wireless metropolitan area network, WMAN), wireless local area network (wireless local area network, WLAN), or wireless personal area network (wireless personal area network, WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuitry.

In various embodiments, baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry to operate signals that are not strictly considered to be at baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include circuitry to operate on an intermediate frequency signal that is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency. RF circuitry 710 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network. In various embodiments, RF circuitry 710 may include circuitry that operates with signals that are not strictly considered to be at radio frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuitry may include circuitry for operating an intermediate frequency signal that is between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency.

In various embodiments, the transmitter circuitry, control circuitry, or receiver circuitry discussed above with respect to the user equipment, eNB, or gNB may be embodied in whole or in part in one or more of RF circuitry, baseband circuitry, and/or application circuitry. As used herein, "circuitry" may refer to, consist of, or include an application specific integrated circuit (application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuitry may be implemented in or the functions associated with the circuitry may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry, application circuitry, and/or memory/storage may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC). Memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, such as a system. In one embodiment, the memory/storage may include any combination of suitable volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (dynamic random access memory, DRAM)) and/or non-volatile storage (e.g., flash memory).

In various embodiments, the I/O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces designed to allow a user to interact with the system and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to allow peripheral components to interact with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, universal serial bus (universal serial bus, USB) ports, audio jacks, and power interfaces. In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may comprise one or more sensing devices to determine location first information and/or environmental states related to the system. In some embodiments, the sensors may include, but are not limited to, gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, and positioning units. The positioning unit may also be part of or interact with baseband circuitry and/or RF circuitry to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS) satellites.

In various embodiments, display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, system 700 may be a mobile computing device such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, a super book, a smart phone, AR/VR glasses, and the like. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components and/or different architectures. The methods described herein may be implemented as computer programs, where appropriate. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium such as a non-transitory storage medium.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each of the units, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the presently disclosed embodiments are implemented using electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether a function is run in hardware or software depends on the state of the application and the design requirements of the technical program. One of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality of each particular application in a different manner without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that he/she may refer to the operation of the systems, devices and units of the above embodiments, as the operation of the systems, devices and units are substantially the same. For ease of description and simplicity, these workflows will not be described in detail.

It should be understood that the systems, devices, and methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways. The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary. The partitioning of the cells is based solely on logic functions, and other partitions exist in the implementation. Multiple units or components may be combined or integrated in another system. It is also possible to omit or skip certain features. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communicative coupling shown or discussed is through some ports, devices or units, whether indirectly through electrical, mechanical or other forms or communicated.

For example, the units serving as the separation means for explanation are physically separated or not separated. The units used for display may or may not be physical units, i.e. located in one place or distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units are used according to the purpose of the embodiment. Furthermore, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated in one processing unit, physically separate, or integrated in one processing unit having two or more units.

If the software functional unit is implemented, used and sold as a product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium of a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions proposed by the present disclosure may be implemented substantially or partly in the form of a software product. Alternatively, a portion of the technical program that facilitates the conventional art may be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium that includes a plurality of commands for a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, server, or network device) to execute all or some of the steps disclosed by embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (random access memory, RAM), a floppy disk, or other type of medium capable of storing program code.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A communication method of a user equipment UE, comprising:

starting periodic channel occupation with a first period; and

the first information is used to indicate an initiated channel occupancy to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first period of the periodic channel occupancy is configured by the base station.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the periodic channel occupancy comprises one or more fixed frame periods, FFPs.

4. A method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the UE initiating the periodic channel occupancy comprises: performing a channel access procedure in the first period; or, a channel access procedure is performed at the beginning of each FFP.

5. The method of any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: the UE configures one or more periodically configured authorized CG resources with a second period by the base station.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the second period is related to the first period.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein a first CG resource of the one or more periodic CG resources is located at a beginning of the periodic channel occupancy or at a beginning of an FFP.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE performs a channel access procedure before transmitting a CG-physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, in the first CG resource.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the CG-PUSCH is transmitted by the UE after the channel access procedure and the channel is sensed as idle.

10. The method of any of claims 4 to 9, wherein for each FFP, the FFP period starts from the CG-PUSCH resource.

11. The method according to any of claims 3 to 10, wherein CG-PUSCH resources are in each FFP.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE continues to transmit the CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCH resources in the FPP when the UE successfully accesses a channel at the start of the FFP.

13. The method of any of claims 2 to 12, wherein when the UE transmits the CG-PUSCH, the UE further transmits CG-uplink control information UCI to the base station or the second UE, wherein the CG-UCI includes first indication information indicating channel occupancy time, COT, sharing information.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the indication information comprises 1 bit, wherein a dedicated value of the bit indicates that UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

15. The method of any one of claims 1 to 14, further comprising: and configuring COT sharing information by the base station.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the COT sharing information comprises a COT sharing energy detection threshold.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising performing the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the UE is capable of indicating in the CG-UCI that the channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE when the UE performs the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising: selecting whether the COT shared energy detection threshold is used to perform the channel access procedure.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the UE is able to select whether to share the UE channel occupancy with the base station when the UE selects to use the COT shared energy detection threshold.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein the UE cannot share the UE channel occupancy with the base station when the UE does not use the COT shared energy detection threshold to perform the channel access procedure.

22. The method of any of claims 1 to 21, wherein the first duration for which the UE channel occupancy is shared is determined when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the FFP or the periodic channel occupancy comprises a maximum channel occupancy and an idle period.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first duration is determined by the maximum channel occupancy.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the UE periodic channel occupancy is semi-statically configured by the base station via signaling.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the signaling comprises radio resource control, RRC, signaling.

27. The method of claim 24, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy is predefined or preconfigured.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy is proportional to the first period.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy comprises X% of the first period, wherein X is predefined or preconfigured, and the remainder of the FFP period comprises the idle period.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the UE is not allowed to transmit in the idle period.

31. The method of claim 29 or 30, wherein the base station does not perform transmission in the idle period when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station.

32. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein the first duration is indicated by the CG-UCI.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the first duration ends earliest among an end of the UE maximum channel occupancy and a duration of the CG-UCI indication.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the first duration ends at the end of the UE maximum channel occupancy if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends earlier than the duration indicated by the CG-UCI.

35. The method of claim 33 or 34, wherein the first duration ends at the duration of the CG-CCI indication if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends later than the duration of the CG-UCI indication.

36. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein a starting position of the first duration is predefined or preconfigured.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the starting location of the first duration is related to a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy.

38. The method of claim 36 or 37, wherein the starting position of the first duration starts from an earliest slot boundary after a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy.

39. The method of claim 22 or 23, wherein a starting location of the first duration is indicated by the CG-UCI.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the first duration is equal to a starting location of the COT shared duration plus a predefined or preconfigured length. The starting position is indicated by the CG-UCI.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the CG-UCI includes no information about a channel access priority level CAPC.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the CAPC value is predefined or preconfigured.

43. The method of claim 41, wherein the base station specifies a predefined or preconfigured CAPC value.

44. The method of claim 42 or 43, further comprising: a channel access procedure is performed using the predefined or preconfigured cap values.

45. The method of any one of claims 42 to 44, wherein the predefined or preconfigured cap value corresponds to a lowest priority value.

46. The method of claim 22, wherein the starting location of the first duration comprises a periodic channel occupancy of the base station or a starting location of an FFP of the base station.

47. A user equipment, UE, comprising:

a memory;

a transceiver; and

coupled to the memory and the transceiver processor;

wherein the processor is configured to:

starting periodic channel occupation with a first period; and

48. The UE of claim 47, wherein the first period of the periodic channel occupancy is configured by the base station.

49. The UE of claim 47 or 48, wherein the periodic channel occupancy comprises one or more fixed frame periods, FFPs.

50. The UE of any of claims 47-49, wherein the processor initiating the periodic channel occupancy comprises: performing a channel access procedure in the first period; or, a channel access procedure is performed at the beginning of each FFP.

51. The UE of any of claims 47-50, wherein the UE is configured by the base station to grant CG resources in one or more periodic configurations in a second period.

52. The UE of claim 51, wherein the second period is related to the first period.

53. The UE of claim 51 or 52, wherein a first CG resource of the one or more periodic CG resources is located at a beginning of the periodic channel occupancy or at a beginning of an FFP.

54. The UE of claim 53, wherein the processor performs a channel access procedure prior to transmitting a CG-physical uplink shared channel, PUSCH, in the first CG resource.

55. The UE of claim 54, wherein the CG-PUSCH is transmitted by the UE after the channel access procedure and the channel is sensed as idle.

56. The UE of any of claims 50-55, wherein for each FFP, the FFP period starts from the CG-PUSCH resources.

57. The UE of any of claims 49-56, wherein CG-PUSCH resources are in each FFP.

58. The UE of claim 57, wherein the transceiver continues to transmit the CG-PUSCH in the remaining CP-PUSCH resources in the FPP when the UE successfully accesses a channel at the beginning of the FFP.

59. The UE of any of claims 48 to 58, wherein when the transceiver transmits the CG-PUSCH, the transceiver further transmits CG-uplink control information UCI to the base station or the second UE, wherein the CG-UCI includes first indication information indicating channel occupancy time, COT, sharing information.

60. The UE of claim 59, wherein the indication information comprises 1 bit, wherein a dedicated value of the bit indicates that UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

61. The UE of any of claims 47-60, wherein the UE configures COT shared information by the base station.

62. The UE of claim 61, wherein the COT sharing information comprises a COT sharing energy detection threshold.

63. The UE of claim 62, wherein the processor is configured to perform the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold.

64. The UE of claim 63, wherein when the processor performs the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold, the processor is capable of indicating in the CG-UCI that the channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

65. The UE of claim 62, wherein the processor selects whether the COT shared energy detection threshold is used to perform the channel access procedure.

66. The UE of claim 65, wherein when the processor selects to use the COT shared energy detection threshold, the processor is capable of selecting whether to share the UE channel occupancy with the base station.

67. The UE of claim 62, wherein the processor is unable to share the UE channel occupancy with the base station when the processor is not performing the channel access procedure using the COT shared energy detection threshold.

68. The UE of any of claims 47-67, wherein the UE channel occupancy is determined to be shared for a first duration when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station or the second UE.

69. The UE of claim 68, wherein the FFP or the periodic channel occupancy comprises a maximum channel occupancy and an idle period.

70. The UE of claim 69, wherein the first duration is determined by the maximum channel occupancy.

71. The UE of claim 70, wherein the UE periodic channel occupancy is semi-statically configured by the base station via signaling.

72. The UE of claim 71, wherein the signaling comprises radio resource control, RRC, signaling.

73. The UE of claim 70, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy is predefined or preconfigured.

74. The UE of claim 73, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy is proportional to the first period.

75. The UE of claim 74, wherein the UE maximum channel occupancy comprises X% of the first period, wherein X is predefined or preconfigured, and the remainder of the FFP period comprises the idle period.

76. The UE of claim 75, wherein the transceiver is not allowed to transmit in the idle period.

77. The UE of claim 75 or 76, wherein the base station does not perform transmission in the idle period when the UE channel occupancy is to be shared by the base station.

78. The UE of claim 68 or 69, wherein the first duration is indicated by the CG-UCI.

79. The UE of claim 78, wherein the first duration ends earliest among an end of the UE maximum channel occupancy and a duration of the CG-UCI indication.

80. The UE of claim 79, wherein the first duration ends at the end of the UE maximum channel occupancy if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends earlier than the duration indicated by the CG-UCI.

81. The UE of claim 79 or 80, wherein the first duration ends at the duration of the CG-CCI indication if the UE maximum channel occupancy ends later than the duration of the CG-UCI indication.

82. The UE of claim 68 or 69, wherein a starting location of the first duration is predefined or preconfigured.

83. The UE of claim 82, wherein the starting location of the first duration is related to a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy.

84. The UE of claim 82 or 83, wherein the starting location of the first duration starts from an earliest slot boundary after a last CG resource in the periodic channel occupancy.

85. The UE of claim 68 or 69, wherein a starting location of the first duration is indicated by the CG-UCI.

86. The UE of claim 85, wherein the first duration is equal to a starting location of the COT shared duration plus a predefined or preconfigured length. The starting position is indicated by the CG-UCI.

87. The UE of claim 86, wherein the CG-UCI includes no information about channel access priority class CAPC.

88. The UE of claim 87, wherein the cap value is predefined or preconfigured.

89. The UE of claim 87, wherein the base station specifies a predefined or preconfigured cap value.

90. The UE of claim 88 or 89, wherein the processor is configured to perform a channel access procedure using the predefined or preconfigured cap value.

91. The UE of any of claims 88 to 90, wherein the predefined or preconfigured cap value corresponds to a lowest priority value.

92. The UE of claim 68, wherein the starting location of the first duration comprises a periodic channel occupancy of the base station or a starting location of an FFP of the base station.

93. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 46.

94. A chip, comprising:

a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program stored in a memory to cause a device on which the chip is installed to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 46.

95. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 46.

96. A computer program product comprising a computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 46.

97. A computer program, wherein the computer program causes a computer to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 46.